Thursday, 1 January 2009

FRIED FRAGRANT BELLS1 lb Ground pork2 Finely chopped green onions1 sl Minced ginger3 tb Chicken broth1 tb Dark soy sauce1 tb Dry Sherry1 Egg2 tb Cornstarch3 tb Water4 Dried bean curd sheetAdditional cornstarch1/4 c Salt2 tb Szechwan peppercorns2 To 4 cups vegetable oilCombine pork, onion, ginger, broth, soy sauce, Sherry,egg and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in bowl and mix well.Combine remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch with waterin small bowl.Moisten 1 bean curd sheet under running water. Placeon work surface and spread with 1/4 of meat mixture.Roll as for jelly roll; brush long edge with dissolvedcornstarch to seal. Repeat to make three more rolls.Cut each into slices 1 1/2 inches thick; dip each endin additional cornstarch to seal filling. (Can be done3 to 4 hours ahead to this point and refrigerated.)For salt: Combine salt and peppercorns in smallskillet and cook until browned. Crush in mortar withpestle.Heat oil in deep fryer to 375 deg. Add slices afew at a time and fry until crisp. Drain on papertowels. Serve hot with peppercorn salt, if desired.Crispy Rattlesnake Coils1 Rattlesnake; cut in stripsFlourSalt & PepperCriscoPREPARATION Cut rattlesnake into 8" strips about 1/4" thick. Salt andpepper lightly. Put flour into a container that can be covered. Addstrips. Shake. Refrigerate for about two hours. This will allow theflour to become sticky and while the Crisco is heating in a deepfryer, pull the pieces apart and re-flour the pieces again. Addflour if necessary. When the Crisco shortening is hot, add onlyenough snake strips so that all pieces are covered by the hot grease.Fry until golden brown. Dump into a container that has been prewarmedin the oven. Continue frying the rest of the rattlesnake strips.NOTE: The fried rattlesnake strips will appear to be coiled!SERVING Use a basket lined with a cloth napkin. Add the fried, coiledsnake pieces. Cover with the napkin.Sri Lanka Fried Chiles24 Dried cayenneOr japone chiles4 tb Salt1 qt WaterOilMake a brine from the salt and water. Soak the chiles for an hour inthe brine. Heat a good quantity of oil. When it's very hot, deep frythe chiles until they are crisp. Drain, salt and serve.This is the simplest way to fix dried chiles. I am told it is eatenas a snack at movie theaters in Sri Lanka.Texas Fried Green Tomatoes3 large Green tomatoes -- TO 42 cups Flour1 tablespoon Salt1 tablespoon Pepper1 tablespoon Lawry's seasoned salt2 Eggs2 cups MilkOil -- for fryingCut tomatoes into almost 1/2-inch thick slices.Mix flour, salt, pepper and seasoned salt in one bowl.Mix eggs and milk in another bowl. Dip each tomato slice into the milkmixture,then into the flour, back to the milk, and then to the flouragain.. coating well.Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees; add battered tomato slices afew at a time, and cook for 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Can alsobe cooked in a heavy skillet, turning once. Note. Yankees cansubstitute cracker crumbs for flour; Southerners can use cornmeal. Inany case, adding a little flour will improve coverage.